AIR TRANSPORT
Argentine airlines face reorganisation
BUENOS AIRES
Argentina's flag carrier, Aero-
lineas Argentinas, has
dismissed all 561 of its pilots
after they went on indefinite
strike on July 1. The strike
has left the airline's inter
national and national services
totally paralysed, two 747s
stranded in Los Angeles and
Madrid, and the company's
future in grave doubt.
The action followed 18
months of disputes and nego
tiations over pay. "We have
arrived at the point where the
pilots are just not interested
in working any longer under
the present conditions," said
Capt Oscar Marshall, trea
surer and spokesman for the
pilots' union Apia.
The issue at stake is the
disparity in salary scales
between Aerolineas Argen
tinas (AA) and Austral, the
state-owned domestic carrier.
AA pilots say the less experi
enced Austral pilots earn 20 to
30 per cent higher salaries. AA
salaries are well below those
paid by other major inter
national airlines, they say.
Take home pay of a 747 pilot
with 30 years flying experi
ence is just over $1,200 per
month.
In May this year an arbi
trator apparently ruled in the
pilots' favour, recommending
a pay scale similar to Austral's
as the basis for further nego
tiation. Two hours before the
ruling was to be made public,
however, the arbitrator's deci
sion was overruled by the
Labour Ministry. Flight was
shown documents obtained by
Apia which clearly indicated
ministerial disapproval of any
new pay scale being linked to
that of Austral.
Aerolineas Argentinas
ended a dispute with mainte
nance workers last month by
offering a new salary scale, to
be negotiated over 90 days. A
similar offer was rejected by
the pilots. "The company
made no concrete proposals
which would provide a basis
for negotiation," said Capt
Marshall.
It has started advertising
for new pilots but, given the
existing pay scales and the
International Pilots Feder
ation's promise to boycott the
airline, there seems to be little
prospect of AA being able to
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 19 July 1986
Aerolineas Argentinas pilots suspect that the Government may sell off some of the airline's fleet and reduce its
domestic services
obtain a sufficient number of
qualified pilots for it to return
to normal services in the short
term.
Other political factors are
thought to lie behind the
dispute. The Government
recently made commitments
to the International Mone
tary Fund (IMF) to restrict
spending (and thus salaries)
and to accelerate its plans to
privatise a number of state
enterprises. Austral is one
of the most likely candidates
for early privatisation. But
industry experts say interest
in the company will be slight
unless it can win a greater
share of the domestic market
which is dominated by Aero
lineas.
AA pilots suspect that the
Government is intending to
use the pilots' dispute as an
excuse to restructure both
Aerolineas and Austral. It
might sell off part of AA's
30-strong, mainly Boeing,
fleet and reduce its domestic
services. Austral may be
privatised and its ageing fleet
of DC-9s and BAe One-
Elevens expanded with the
incentive of more domestic
traffic.
Behind-the-scenes efforts
to rationalise AA are imper
ative. Losses from the dispute
are running at over $500,000 a
day, throwing budget plans off
course and adding to the
company's already onerous
$800 million debt. AA was
expected to make a modest
operating profit this year but
this hope is fading.
Aerolineas' management
would not comment on the
carrier's plans while the
dispute was running. But
recent Government assent to
major pay increases in the
powerful metalworkers' and
construction workers' unions
suggests that the hard line
taken by Aerolineas with its
pilots involves broader indus
trial issues and Government
debt commitments rather
than simply pay.
New cargo
airline to fly
HK-Sydney
HONG KONG ~~~
The first all-cargo flights
between Hong Kong and
Sydney should start by
September, if a newly formed
Australian-backed carrier
succeeds in winning a licence,
reports Phillip Bangsberg.
Transcorp Airways (Hong
Kong) is majority owned by
Ansett Transport Industries
via the TNT conglomerate,
with backing from media
magnate Rupert Murdoch.
Ansett put up HK$39 million
(US$5 million) and Hong
Kong investors supplied the
rest.
Transcorp has already used
its 707-330C for one charter
flight, bringing a consignment
of gold from Europe to Hong
Kong on behalf of Cathay
Pacific, which did not feel it
could economically use a
widebody to carry it.
Transcorp's aircraft,
acquired from Lufthansa for
US$1 • 3 million, is now being
hushkitted in the USA in
anticipation of more string
ent Hong Kong noise regul
ations.
Assuming it is permitted to
fly, Transcorp intends to
"operate in a supplementary
role and complement existing
services on major routes",
chairman Anthony Manzi
says. It does not intend to
compete with Cathay or Hong
Kong Dragon Airlines.
Cathay has opposed a
number of Dragonair applica
tions for regional passenger
and cargo flights. A Cathay
spokesman said that he was
not aware of any immediate
concern about Transcorp.
The Hong Kong carrier does
not operate a direct Hong
Kong-Australia cargo flight,
although it does have a joint
service with Lufthansa and
Qantas from Frankfurt via
Melbourne,
Transcorp plans to operate
a proving flight to Manila
next month, with regular
cargo services between Hong
Kong and Sydney—both
direct and via Singapore—to
follow.
"We have to develop export
markets. As those markets
grow, we will grow with
them," Manzi said. "It is
surprising that although the
route from Hong Kong to
Sydney has been short of
cargo capacity for years,
nobody has seen fit to intro
duce such a service."
Some industry executives
question the prospects for the
proposed service, saying that
while there is an occasional
backlog of freight, much of it
is seasonal. Manzi forecasts
that the route will generate
income of about HK$1 million
a year. With that bread-
and-butter service estab
lished, he hopes to extend
into China and Indochina.
This would require further
licensing, and some author
ities may hold out for recip
rocal rights.